BEIJING: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Thursday that there are "still risks" that could derail efforts to bring peace to the Korean peninsula following Donald Trump's summit with North Korea's leader.
"We truly believe that we have a path forward after so many years that can bring peace," Pompeo told Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as he briefed officials in Beijing about the landmark talks.
"There are still risks that we won't achieve that but I truly do believe that the world set the conditions properly" at the summit, he said, after Trump said his deal with Kim Jong Un had ended the North Korean nuclear threat.
Pompeo said he appreciated everything done by China, North Korea's sole major ally, to prepare the ground for Tuesday's summit.
Trump repeatedly urged Beijing to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea to pressure the reclusive country, whose economy relies heavily on China to survive.
"There is still more work to be done by China and the United States," Pompeo said.
Wang said the summit "moved the peninsula's nuclear issue into the right track of peace and negotiation in line with all parties including the US and China as well as the hopes of international society".
"It helps to promote and realise the denuclearisation of the peninsula and helps to provide the peninsula and the region real and lasting peace," Wang added.
Turning to US-China relations, Wang said "cooperation far outweighs differences and competition" between the world's two largest economies.
His comments come as weeks of negotiations between Beijing and Washington show no signs of a breakthrough, with Trump due Friday to decide on whether to impose tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports.